The Study
Effects of Moderate and Vigorous Exercise on Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Randomized Clinical Trial.
This study is like a fair test where people were randomly picked to either walk more, jog more, or do nothing. It found that walking and jogging both helped reduce fat in the liver, and neither was clearly better than the other. But we can't say exercise directly fixed the liver—it probably worked because people lost weight.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
This study tested if walking or jogging helps reduce fat in the liver of people who are overweight and have fatty liver disease.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 579 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Losing even a few percent of liver fat can improve liver health and lower risk of serious liver damage, so this is a meaningful benefit.
- 2People who walked 150 minutes a week for a year reduced liver fat by 3.5%.
- 3People who jogged for 6 months then walked for 6 months reduced it by 3.9% to 5.0%.
- 4Both groups saw similar results.
- 5The fat loss was mostly because they lost weight.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
JAMA internal medicine
Year
2016
Authors
Hui-jie Zhang, Jiang He, Lingling Pan, Zhi-min Ma, Cheng-Kun Han, Chung-Shiuan Chen, Zheng Chen, Hai-Wei Han, Shi Chen, Qian Sun, Jun-feng Zhang, Zhibin Li, Shu-yu Yang, Xue-jun Li, Xiao-ying Li
Related Content
Claims (6)
In adults with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, aerobic exercise reduces liver fat primarily because it leads to weight loss; when weight loss is accounted for, exercise no longer shows a direct effect on liver fat levels.
In adults with central obesity and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, vigorous aerobic exercise causes larger decreases in body weight, waist size, and visceral fat than moderate aerobic exercise during the first six months of exercise intervention.
In adults with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, 12 months of aerobic exercise does not change fasting glucose, blood fats, or liver enzyme levels if diet is not changed.
Adults with central obesity and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease who perform 150 minutes per week of moderate or vigorous aerobic exercise for 12 months experience a reduction in liver fat by 3.5% to 5.0%, and the amount of reduction is the same regardless of exercise intensity.
In adults with central obesity and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, 12 months of moderate aerobic exercise reduces liver fat by about 3.5%, decreases waist size, and lowers blood pressure, regardless of whether significant weight loss occurs after 6 months.
People with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease who perform 135 minutes of aerobic exercise each week have lower levels of fat in their liver compared to those who do not.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.